Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren, and a Troll‟S Legend “...”
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Nardei Marzia 73932 Barbari Silvia 73774 Professor: Bortoluzzi Maria and Dott. Mityana Vaccaro Academic year: 2007/2008 HOME SWEET HOME!! 1. WHY PROJECT WORK? There are a lot of reasons in choosing “project work”. As mentioned in “Project with young learners” (Philips Diana, Burwood Sarah, Dunford Helen, 1999), a project is organized in a way that children can have an active role and be aware of what they are doing. In it every activity is linked one to the other and none of the children have a passive part. It will educate the whole child: using a wide range of skills such as intellectual skills, physical/motor skills, social skills and learner independence skills. Everybody feels involved and at the same time has the opportunity to challenge him/herself overcoming his/her own limits. “This approach encourages emotional and personal development. Wherever possible, children are given an opportunity to produce work which is personal and individual, which reflects their ideas, tastes, and interests; they are encouraged to express their feelings, and their opinions are sought and valued” (Philips, Burwood, Dunford, 1999:6). Children have a natural curiosity for language and fascination with projects that challenge them to use a range of talents, skills and material in a creative way. It will inspire pupils to make a variety of “products” and encourage them to work collaboratively in order to reach the same aims. Children at this age, see parents as their first and almost unique reference point. In nursery school, the teachers also have a significant role from them. It‟s very important then, to have a dialogue between teachers and children‟s parents in order to have a common line in “educating” the children, that‟s why this project will be presented to the parents first and then it can start during the lessons. 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE WHOLE PROJECT "One may make their house a palace of sham, or they can make it a home, a refuge." - Mark Twain “Home sweet home”… why such a project about it? The house/home is a point of reference and a place where everyone feels secure, and it‟s fundamental for each person. It‟s a point in common among people from different countries and with different cultures. In our multicultural society, the feeling of insecurity given by puzzlement is growing. The role of the school is important for the integration of foreign pupils, but not only for them. There are a lot of differences: between people from different countries but also between neighbours; and last, but not least, also between people that are living in the same house or class. That‟s why this project will consider some aspects of some foreign countries but also of Italy to make children aware that everyone is different but that they also have some common aspects such as needs, fears which make us similar. Each person has his/her difficulties in being integrated in such a varied society. This project is about the “meaning” of the house for the children. We want to let children be aware of the differences between “house” and “home”. House is the building where people live (generally a family); home is related to the feeling of belonging. When speaking about the “house”, its general structure (the roof, the walls, the material used to build it…) it will be considered in order to make a comparison between two different kinds of houses in different countries. With this distinction children will be able to understand that each country has its own type of house due to the fact that both the environment and the culture are different and these influence habits. Home is a place where a child is safe: it‟s a reference point. As said before, home is related to the affects (family and friends); a place where everybody can have a rest and be more relaxed than in other places. Home is: A dwelling place together with the family or social unit that occupies it; An environment offering security and happiness. A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin. The place, such as a country or town, where one was born or has lived for a long period. The house has different characteristics in different countries, but they are only superficial aspects. At the same time, the people have different physical characteristics, but the important thing is how human beings are that is similar. In fact, everybody has in common fears and needs. The home is more important than the house because it‟s connected with the soul of the people who live there, and with their feelings. The house will be studied from different points of view which are the different areas: Italian; science; geography, art, maths, psychomotricity, social issues, English language (L2). Some experts of the building area will be invited to speak about their jobs. They will propose some special activities to all the children (divided into small groups). These activities will be repeated in each area/field of knowledge. For example, the English teacher will propose building of the Scandinavian house and this will be compared with Italian houses. Even if the project has been planned for the whole school, here only the part for the three-year-old children about the English field/area will be outlined. 3. CONTEXT (for the whole project) The project is meant for the children of the whole nursery school which is organized in three classes: three, four and five-year-old children. There is a high percentage of foreign pupils from different countries. 4. TIME The project will take 5 months, from January to May. In this period of the year, also the youngest children will be emotionally prepared to face this kind of project. In fact, they are integrated in the school and they are familiar with the people who work there, and also with the other children. They are more independent and so they are more prepared to be involved in a project. 5. OTHER PEOPLE/GROUP INVOLVED A project is a great opportunity to connect the school with people that generally have nothing to do with the school system and environment. In this specific case, some experts that work in the field of building such as an architect, bricklayer, carpenter, and the mayor of the village will be invited to speak about their jobs to the children. The builder will explain how he builds Italian houses and he will build a small wall in the garden together with the children. The architect will talk about the “esthetic” and the safe part of the house: how to arrange the furniture inside the house in order to be safe. They will observe critically the school from these points of view. The carpenter will explain the different uses of wood for example to build houses, part of them (like the roof or the balcony) or furniture. He will make small objects with the children. The mayor will speak about the organisation of the houses in the village saying that there are some areas for farms and others for houses. 6. DIFFERENT AREAS INVOLVED This project has been planned to incorporate language points, vocabulary items, and skills which are suitable for children in a nursery school. Each activity will integrate some particular skills and at the end of the project a balance of skills will be achieved. This project will involve different subjects, or still, different areas. When working in nursery school, it is not possible to talk about traditional subjects, but children can actively work on some experiences in different areas/fields of knowledge. Italian language area/field: through the tale “I tre porcellini” the children will be able to understand the affective and emotional meaning of the house/home. They will explore the language and its meanings and sounds. Scientific area/field: the children will use different materials. Through them they will be able to understand that people build houses considering climate and weather. Artistic area/field: the children will use their imagination to create small houses considering things they would like to have in their “dream-house” using different materials (clay; wood; cloths; paper). Mathematic area/field: the children will be able to use different kinds of measurements such as length, height, weight, width, depth. Psychomotricity area/field: they will play with “building blocks” to build houses and play inside them. All the activities will put together the physical and the emotional aspects. Social area/field: it will be considered the connection between the house and social life: if a child lives in a detached house or in a block of flats, his/her social life is different. The teachers who will work in this project are the teachers of each section/class. Obviously, their work is closely connected and linked. 7. GENERAL AIMS OF THE WHOLE PROJECT Always taking into consideration the age of the children, they will learn to: accept the other get to know the differences among one each other (cultures, behaviours, habits, houses) be aware of the importance of the house/home for a person be aware that the house is a point of reference create a positive atmosphere in the classroom improve cooperation among one another develop empathy learning to understand body language and facial expressions improve the ability of working in small groups Develop sensory motor skills and improve manual ability (play games, cutting, drawing, gluing…) increase self-esteem, self confidence and ability to react to new and different situations develop the ability to be expressive and imaginative express themselves through art activities work together sharing competences, strategies and knowledge respect their turn respect rules of a game develop social skills, help and cooperation during the various group activities.